Burden
by Bitway
Summary: As long as he can hide them, then there's nothing he needs to be afraid of. But the truth has to come out eventually. And it does.
Once perfect and clear skin had now been tarnished by purple and blue blotches. All over his body, they displayed as if trying to form a secret and cryptic message. Of course, there was none, there was no method to them, they just appeared thanks to the rough touches of other humans. They had left such terrible markings on him.

Those dark blotches weren't the only thing to grace his skin. There were lines grazed on his body, small ones, long ones, shallow ones, deep ones, usually some of his red liquid oozed from them. They didn't hurt so much, depending on how recent they were. Those bruises did though, they were a pain in the ass to deal with.

Luckily, Hiroto knew how to cover himself. Wear track pants, some track jersey to go with it, anything that was long and could cover his body, to cover the damages that had been dealt to him. Underneath those clothes would be bandages, gauze, anything to cover up his wounds. There weren't many at first, but by now, if he were to undress completely, he'd almost look like a mummy.

He thought hiding this would all be easy. His clothes hid everything and thanks to his sister's help, he had some idea on how to conceal the more noticeable bruises with makeup. And it let him blend in with practice, at least he wouldn't be getting odd looks from his friends about wearing warm clothing. For once, he was glad there was a time limit when it came to practice, at least he wouldn't have to hide himself for long.

What he couldn't hide, at least not forever, was the pain when someone touched a now sensitive area. If it was a gentle touch, it could be brushed off, but no one was aware of his situation, no one knew how much he had gone through, so no one knew how much pain coursed through his body when he had missed catching a soccer ball. It had hit him in the stomach; no one expected this cheery looking boy to keel over from such contact.

He had to reassure everyone that he was fine. No one believed him, not after he had let out that cry of pain. But, Hiroto made sure to have that gentle smile trickle onto his face, it was as if that hit never happened at all. If he could conceal the pain, there'd be no questions, no worries, thats just what he wanted.

But that wasn't what they wanted. They wanted to know with their curious and worried eyes. Yet, no one wanted to intrude upon his space, the boy had proven to be stubborn at times and perhaps this matter was person. So, they decided to turn back, continue with their practice. All but one.

"Kiyama Hiroto." The boy's voice was stern, a hint of anger stemming forth from it. It was as if he already knew something was wrong.

The one called had froze in place. Hiroto mentally cursed at himself, what a fool he was for letting him, of all people, catch a glimpse of what he had been trying to hide.

Midorikawa Ryuuji, a dear and precious friend to the Kiyama Hiroto began making his way towards him. "What was that all about? I know Gouenji has a powerful kick, but I know that if that one made contact with anyone, it wouldn't have caused something like that."

Hiroto sighed as he was greatly aware of his friend's worries. He had the feeling ever since these things started to appear on his skin, he had been. His best friend wouldn't just ignore something like this, his unusual behavior and dancing around any time alone with him. As long as he could have avoided Midorikawa, he could avoid the subject at hand.

"I may have overreacted, but I'm fi-"

"Don't say you're fine! I know you're not!" And as if to prove it, the green haired teen quickly and roughly grabbed Hiroto's arm, firmly holding it within his grasp.

It was impossible to hide the pain from such an action, he never expected this from him. A small yelp of pain was let out, he flinched upon contact with his hand. It hurt. He was holding onto one of those newer spots.

And yet, he forced a smile through that scorching pain. "I'm fine…please, let go."

This only caused him to receive a sharp glare from Midorikawa. That liar, he had seen it. The pain, something was wrong. But what? He didn't know, but he was indeed intent on finding out the cause.

But, something felt weird, his skin felt…different. Curious, Midorikawa removed his hand, finding some sort of powder on his finger tips. He rubbed it together, examining it, trying to deduce just what this stuff was and why it had come from his friend.

And before Hiroto could hide the reason with his hand, he had seen it. There was a dark bruise being revealed underneath his handprint on the boy's arm. Before he could ask anything, Hiroto had already began to step back.

It was over.

He saw.

So, he ran.

All he could do was ignore the shouts from Midorikawa and the pain shooting through him as he dashed off. He didn't know why, now that his secret had been revealed, he just wanted to leave, get away from him. But that would only last for so long. His friend would definitely come to confront him on the subject.

His lies wouldn't work, not anymore. Something like sleeping in the wrong position, accidentally hitting himself while he was half asleep in the morning, being a klutz with a knife, it wouldn't work.

And to make matters worse, he was about to receive more.

* * *

The bed had cushioned his fall and it felt nice to be able to rest. Hiroto knew what was coming, but chose to live in this blissful moment for now. If he ignored the pain, ignored the truth, resting upon his bed would literally seem like a dream. He was so eager to drift off to sleep, Midorikawa wouldn't bother him then, would he? He needed the sleep and desperately wanted it. Maybe he could get away with this, continue to run…

"Hiroto, I know you're in there." There it was, his voice. A sigh escaped Hiroto, looks like running was out of the question now.

"The door is open."

Hiroto pushed his tired and heavy body up, forcing himself to sit on the bed and look towards the door, though remained staring at the other boy's shoes. He couldn't look him in the eye, not yet, too tired. He was glad the other had decided to close the door, granting them both privacy.

"Hiroto…" His voice had lost his anger from earlier, it had been replaced by deep concern.

Light teal eyes slowly trailed up to look into his deep black ones. The coward could only wonder what the other had seen when looking into them. Perhaps he was seeing right through him, perhaps he just wanted to find an answer in those tired eyes.

"Please, tell me whats wrong."

"…And if I refuse?" He could hardly believe that he was still trying to run away, to hide this truth from him.

"I won't leave until I get an explanation from you," Midorikawa replied.

Then there was silence. As much as Midorikawa wanted an answer, he was patient. He knew he had acted roughly earlier, unintentionally hurting his friend. The anger had gotten to him, but he was just so annoyed that he was hiding something, something that he wanted to help with.

What seemed like hours to Hiroto had just been minutes. His thoughts were on speaking to him, telling him the truth and explaining his avoidant behavior, his pain, his lies. It was much more difficult than he thought. In his mind, he was shouting, screaming, crying for help, but in reality, nothing had left his lips.

And if his voice wouldn't let him speak up, then he'd have to show him another way.

"Let me shower first. I promise you that I'll tell you everything afterwards."

Their eyes met and he was graced with a nod. Midorikawa was lenient, still remaining patient. This was the longest they had been together since Hiroto's odd behavior. If he had to wait for an answer, then he would wait.

A small, 'thank you' came from Hiroto's lips as he made his way to the side bathroom. Inside, he began to undress, stripping down to his boxers as he looked at himself in the mirror. His bandages had come undone from running and the earlier incident, more blotches were revealed, half covered by some of the worn out make up, some just completely revealed. He was so glad that at least there were only new bruises, no new scars to cover up. But that thought wouldn't stick around long, tomorrow he could be gifted with nothing but just that and the sight of his own blood oozing around on his body.

For a moment, he just stared at himself in the mirror, his own reflection was one that he couldn't recognize anymore. Once a boy that was happy, fit, ready to go and live out his day had now been replaced with one that looked under the weather, almost ill, filled with tainted skin. Who knew so much could change within such little time? Who knew that he could look like a completely different person?

Was this how they saw him now?

After removing his underwear, he stepped into the shower, having that warm water beat against his skin. It stung at first but eventually began to ease some of his pain. If only he could stay in here longer, he would. But for now, his first priority was to shed everything. No makeup, no bandages, everything had to go.

Hiroto was quick, making sure everything was off, thats all he wanted to do. He didn't bother drying himself too much, the towel sort of hurt when he pat himself dry. Though, he did make sure he was dry enough to at least put his boxers back on.

With a towel wrapped around his shoulders, he hesitantly made his way back into his bedroom. His eyes immediately searched out for Midorikawa, who had decided to sit on his bed while waiting.

There was a light gasp that escaped him as he saw Hiroto's legs, his bruises were visible, so were those horrible scars. It wasn't just his arm? Oh god, he never expected to see something like this on his friend.

"Hiroto? Wha-"

Before he could question further, he dropped the towel, revealing more and he nearly regretted the decision as he saw Midorikawa's face. A mixture of fear, anger, concern. Isn't that what he expected from him? From anyone if they found out?

"Hiroto…what…how?" He couldn't find the words, only stare at all the damage that had been done to him. Who would do such a thing? Why? They would surely pay the price for hurting him!

"Let me explain before you jump to conclusions." His voice was calm as he picked up the towel to wrap himself in. He didn't need the other to stare at all the scars and bruises along his body, it would only be a distraction. Perhaps he shouldn't have done that in the first place, but it was about time someone knew. Slowly, he stepped towards Midorikawa, sitting beside him on the bed and kept his gaze focused elsewhere in the room.

"I'm sure you haven't forgotten about the Aliea incident. It seems impossible for any one of us to forget." A small sigh escaped him before continuing, "We did such horrible things and I know not a single one of us is proud of the destruction we caused. We made it clear that we wanted to atone for our mistakes…but not everyone believed us." Hiroto shifted, telling him what he already knew was simple. The next part was much more difficult. "You were seen the most, being the first…alien. They feared you, hated you…and they wanted revenge."

"Who?"

"The soccer teams you forcibly disbanded. They had all planned something, a plot to get revenge on what we, namely you had done. I heard their captains speaking and decided to intervene. I…figured I could talk my way out of it, get them to change their minds, but…that didn't work. They only thing in their hearts was pure hatred for us."

But that was understandable, wasn't it? They were aliens, monsters, to the world. But all they wanted was to make their father happy. A home was finally theirs and they intended to keep it, even if it meant following through with such horrible deeds.

"They offered a deal to me though. They'd leave you alone as long as I took the place of their original target…"

Midorikawa was quiet, his gaze flickering between Hiroto and the bruises covering his skin. All that…was meant for him? If it weren't for Hiroto, he'd be in this situation or maybe even worse.

"And…you agreed…"

Hiroto's head bobbed slightly. "I probably wasn't thinking clearly at the time. I could have thought of another way out, but I just didn't want them to hurt you. I agreed on the spot."

It was all for him. He had done this to protect him. And yet…he was angry. Why would he do something so stupid? Why didn't he ask for help? "Why didn't you tell anyone? A group of bullies can easily be handled by you! I know you can kick their asses if you wanted to!"

"Hmph." Hiroto smiled sadly. "They thought of that already. If I spoke of this to anyone or fought back, they won't spare you or me. And they even threatened to go after the others here…they'd form an alliance to get back at everyone…" And so, he decided to take the burden upon himself.

To protect the ones he loved, his family, his friends, everyone he had been with, he suffered for them. He was a fool, he knew it. A smart kid like him, how could he ever fall to something like this? Their trap? But now, it was far too late to escape from it.

"You're…so goddamn stupid!" Midorikawa shouted as he lightly hit Hiroto's shoulder before wrapping his arms around the other, careful not to hold him too tightly.

"You could have told me! You can't take everyone on yourself, Hiroto! You're not alone in this. If you think you're the only alien on earth, then you're not protecting anyone. Especially not yourself."

"Midorikawa…?" He was surprised to hear it. He was right though, it wasn't just him who had caused damage to this planet. But he was acting as if he was. Taking upon this burden, trying to live to make someone else happy- again, to please someone and keep them away from pain.

He was stupid. Very stupid.

And for his stupidity, he didn't deserve his friend's kind words. His tender embrace, his warmth, his ability to make this pain disappear. He deserved none of it.

"Hiroto…are you alright? I'm sorry for saying that, but please don't cry…"

Crying? He wasn't crying, was he? The red head wasn't aware of it, but small tears were falling from his eyes. Slowly sliding down his face. When had this happened?

It didn't matter, he'd cry it out. Even if he shouldn't cry, he would. He was supposed to be strong. He was supposed to hold himself and not let anyone see this side.

"I'm sorry, Midorikawa…I really have been stupid. I should have come to you and the others for help…" He replied softly through his tears, little bits of sobs breaking through and cracking his voice every now and then when he spoke.

"Why don't we change that? I'm here for you, I'll help. But…I think we can all band together for this. We'll fight together, like we did before, but for a better cause," He replied, a gentle smile gracing his face.

Hiroto looked to him, Midorikawa keeping one arm around Hiroto while the other had reached dot gently wipe away some leftover tears. The boy was actually…happy. It had been so long since he ever felt like this. He never thought he'd be able to be happy again.

"I'd…be very grateful if you did join me again. Thank you, Midorikawa."

"You don't have to thank me, Hiroto. I'm your teammate, your friend. You know, earth has a saying: 'The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side'."


End file.
